Tortured Soul
by Sailor Tomodachi
Summary: What happens when Makoto finds Ami bruised and bleeding in front of her apartment? Rated T for minor adult themes.


Hiya! I'm back from my really hectic life. I haven't had much time to type this on the computer, so I typed all this up on my ipod late at night. This is sort of an alternate version to 'Bruised Heart'. I had an Ami/Mako dream recently similar to this so I didn't do much, it was all in my head and typed itself out ; )

So, yeah, enjoy!

Normally at 6 pm on a Thursday night the apartment hallways were filled with silence. Today was obviously different as 16 year old Kino Makoto made her entrance into the apartment building. "What a day," Makoto groaned quietly to herself as she dragged her weary feet up her apartment stairs. "Never would of expected that a stray youma could attack so late in the afternoon." Halfway up the stairs, Makoto fished her keys out of her pocket. She ran through her mental list of things to do once she was inside.

'Clean the apartment,' Makoto thought. 'Cook, maybe do a bit of studying, shower and then maybe... Huh?' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a young girl, leaning against Makoto's apartment door, fast asleep. Little scrapes and cuts were running across her arms and legs, and there were streaks of blood trailing down her thighs. The girl's face was contorted in pain and her breathing was shaky.

Makoto's eyes widened in horror and shock and she ran to the girl, gently, but frantically grabbing her shoulders and calling for her to wake up. The girl's eyes fluttered open and immediately squinted at the brightness of the hallway lights.

"Mako-chan?" She asked groggily. Makoto didn't answer, just unlocked her front door, carefully scooped the girl into her arms and carried Ami inside.

Makoto hurriedly carried Ami into her bathroom and set her on the edge of the bath. Ami's breathing was shallow and her face pale. Makoto decided to leave her questions for later. After making sure that the smaller girl was able to sit up on her own, Makoto went to grab her first-aid kit. After finding it, Makoto quickly made her way back to the bathroom. Ami, now fully awake, was trying not to cry out in pain from Makoto's gentle attempts to clean the wounds on her arms. Makoto sighed.

"Ami-chan, I have no idea what happened," The taller girl began, trying to make eye contact with the girl. "But you're obviously a

mess and we need to get you cleaned up. And I know you probably won't want to do this, but the only way I can clean your wounds is if you take off your shirt." Ami's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. At Makoto's question of why, Ami whispered something barely audible. Makoto heard something about the taller girl getting angry. Makoto sighed again. "I won't get angry, but we really need to clean your wounds otherwise they'll get infected. You're wearing something underneath, right?" Ami nodded. Makoto went to pull her shirt off but stopped when Ami shook her head again.

"Don't..." Ami mumbled.

"Ami-chan," Makoto warned. She reached for the hem of Ami's shirt.

"Don't!" Ami cried out. Makoto ignored her, grabbing the hem with both hands and started to lift it, only to be stopped by Ami's hands on hers, trying to stop the taller girl. After pulling Ami's hands off hers, Makoto held the smaller girl's hands off to the side with one hand. Starting to lift Ami's shirt off with one hand, Makoto immediately stopped when she heard Ami crying. Realization struck her with the force of her own lightning as she looked at both of Ami's hands captured in her left hand. Ami was so small... And even though she was a sailor soldier, in her civilian form like she was now, controlling her was easy. She let go of Ami's hands and shirt, and moved slightly away from her.

"What happened to you, Ami-chan?" Makoto softly questioned. Ami, once again, shook her head in response, her head bowed. Tears slowly dripped onto Makoto's jean-covered knees. Makoto once again reached out and lifted Ami's shirt. Carefully taking it off, the taller girl gasped when she saw little cuts and bruises everywhere - on Ami's chest, shoulders, torso... Makoto bit her lip. Cleaning these wounds would hurt Ami. Pulling out some bandages and a damp cloth, Makoto carefully began her job.

By the time Makoto had finished cleaning the wounds on Ami's torso, the smaller girl had her eyes closed in pain the occasional tear dripping onto Makoto's jeans.

"There, I'm finished." Makoto announced. She reached out and smoothed back some of the hair covering the smaller girl's face. "You can open your eyes." Ami slowly lifted her eyes open. Licking her lips, she whispered gratefully: "Thank you, Mako-chan." Breathing deeply, she then motioned for Makoto to come closer. The taller girl moved her head closer and Ami leaned down and whispered shakily in her ear: "I.. I was... There was this... I was walking... Home from cram school... I... I thought I'd take... A shortcut through an alleyway and... He crept up behind me... And... I didn't... I couldn't hear him... And..." Ami stopped talking, her voice too choked up to talk. Her breathing was shaky and Makoto had to instruct the girl to breathe slowly and deeply. The taller girl didn't like where Ami's story was leading. Somehow Ami found the strength to continue on. She continued whispering in Makoto's ear: "He had a knife... I struggled so he... Cut me... And I... Lost my strength... I couldn't transform... And then he..." Ami stopped and a sob came from her. "He... R-ra...ped me..." her voice broke off and she started sobbing. Makoto carefully, but hastily pulled Ami into her lap and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. Ami buried her head into Makoto's chest and dug her fingers into her back. The taller girl could feel the immediate wetness soaking through the front of her shirt. Ami wouldn't stop shaking and she was crying incoherent things into Makoto's chest. Makoto just put her hand on the base of Ami's head to support her, cradling the smaller girl's head between her breasts. She started stroking Ami's back and gently rocked her, feeling helpless. When Ami's sobs quietened down, Makoto stood up, bringing the smaller girl with her. After sitting her on a stool, Makoto turned on the shower. Turning around to face Ami, she asked: "Can you stand up long enough to clean off?" A shaky nod and a sniffle from the smaller girl assured Makoto. As the taller girl started to leave she told Ami that she'd bring some clothes to her once she was done. With that, she gently closed the door.

Makoto heard the shower door shut. She needed time to think over what had happened to Ami. The taller girl had promised Ami that she wouldn't get angry with her. Makoto wasn't angry at Ami at all, it was the person that had raped her that she was obviously angry at. She just didn't want to show her fury in front of Ami. Sighing, Makoto went in her room and pulled some clothes out of her drawers for Ami. The taller girl glanced at the clock. It had been a while since Ami had gone in the shower. Just as she was about to check up on the smaller girl, the sound of the water being turned off rang out. Makoto hurried to give the clothes to Ami.

Ami's wounds were cleaned, bandaged up, she was wearing clean, oversized (Makoto smiled) clothes and was given comfort. And now, Makoto was giving her a place to stay for the night. A couple hours later, Ami lay in the spare room's bed, pondering over how gracious Makoto was being to her.

'I'm so useless," Ami thought to herself in the dark, tears welling up in her eyes. 'Getting raped, then troubling Mako-chan to help me." Her thoughts were then turned to her rapist and she shivered involuntarily. Tears ran down her face again and she remembered Makoto's words before she had gone in her room. "If you need to talk, I'm here." With those words in mind, Ami painfully climbed out of bed and quietly walked to Makoto's bedroom, pillow clutched to her chest. Light was seeping under the closed door, letting Ami know that the taller girl was still up. Hesitantly, the small girl knocked quietly on the door. Makoto's voice called out for Ami to come in. Ami slowly opened the door, pressing the pillow closer to her as she stepped in the dimly lit room. The taller girl was sitting up in her double bed reading what looked like to be a recipe book. That brought a slight smile to Ami's face. Makoto smiled gently and asked: "What is it, Ami-chan?" At remembering what had made her come to Makoto's room, Ami bowed her head and tried hard not to cry. "Um, well... I was... I keep remembering and..." Ami stammered out, tears coming to her eyes, her efforts to keep them back, futile. "I can't sleep, I keep remembering... His face... And-" Makoto stopped her by beckoning Ami over to her. Ami hesitantly made her way over to her and after putting the pillow on the end of the double bed, sat next to Makoto. Makoto's hand slid around Ami's shoulders and pulled her close. Her other hand lightly stroked the smaller girl's fingers. "Hey... It's all right... It's all just a bad memory now," Makoto whispered comfortingly when Ami pressed her face against her shoulder. Ami's tears dried up quickly at the feel of Makoto's soft shirt and the warm body underneath it. She felt safe like this. "I won't let anyone hurt you again." At that, Ami lifted her head to look into Makoto's eyes. They had a sincere look in them and the smaller girl nodded. Reaching out, Ami grasped the material of Makoto's nightshirt around her stomach and she buried her face into Makoto's shoulder.

"Thank you, Mako-chan." Ami whispered, truly grateful. Pressing a kiss to the top of Ami's head, the taller girl murmured back an 'anytime'.

Thanks to those who read this! If you liked it, please review! It brings a smile to my face.

~ -chan


End file.
